Investigation of Infrared Thermography NDE Techniques for Use in Power Station Environments

Three active thermal methods capable of detecting surface breaking cracks in metals are considered in this Thesis. The three thermal methods exploit different means of excitation, each with practical advantages and varying abilities to detect specific types of crack morphology. Thermosonics uses a broadband, high power ultrasonic input to vibrate the test-piece. Defects damp the vibrational energy into heat which is imaged by a thermal camera. Laser-spot thermography uses a short laser pulse to spot heat the surface of the test-piece, and the subsequent radial heat diffusion is then observed. Defects can cause both increased emission of infrared and localised increases in thermal impedance, both effects causing distortion of the radial heat diffusion. Eddy-current induced thermography uses a high power magnetic field to induce a flow of current inside the test-piece. Defects create a localised increase in electrical impedance, diverting the electric field around the defect. This diversion of current flow causes neighbouring regions of high and low current density, the corresponding Joule heating imaged by a thermal camera. In this Thesis the three methods are explored experimentally. For laser-spot thermography and eddy-current induced thermography the physical phenomena are characterised and experimental best-practice for short pulse excitation determined. The effect of crack opening on each of the three methods is found to give insight into which applications the methods are most suited. It was found that the relationship between crack opening and detectability was complex for thermosonics, relatively linear for laser-spot thermography, and that eddy-current induced thermography is largely insensitive to crack opening. The methods are tested for the feasibility of detecting cracks in Inconel buried beneath metallic and ceramic coatings typical of gas turbine blades, with thermosonics and eddy-current induced thermography found to be viable methods. A study of the detectability of a large number of cracks in steel, titanium and Waspaloy by eddy-current induced thermography is detailed, and from this data the probability of detection is established. Eddy-current thermography is shown to be an extremely sensitive method capable of detecting fatigue cracks of approximately 0.25 mm in steel and 0.50-0.75 mm in titanium and Waspaloy. The practicality of the thermal methods is discussed, and the methods put into the context of the wider field of NDE. Based on the works in this Thesis it was found that for most applications eddy-current induced thermography is the most appealing thermal method since it is highly sensitive, rapid, non-contacting and relatively easy to validate. However, both thermosonics and laser-spot thermography remain useful alternative inspections for more niche applications

John Buchan (1875-1940) : a reassessment of his Christian faith and practice

This thesis emphasises, as paramount, Buchan’s little explored life-long and deeply held Christian faith and practice. Much on-going discussion of his life and character ignores or misrepresents this essential motivation, favouring interpretations that stress his desire for fame or fortune. This is not, however, a full-scale presentation of Buchan’s doctrinal beliefs, perhaps impossible to achieve with so private a man. Many influences around Buchan, and choices he made throughout life, indicate that he remained faithful to his early experience of commitment to Christ. Neglected parts of books, articles, and sermons, together with archived letters, documents and papers, in Oxford, Glasgow, London, Elsfield, Edinburgh, and Queen’s Library, Kingston, Ontario, are used to inform Buchan’s Christianity. An examination of writings by Buchan’s father and sister revises the extent of a suggested alienation between father and son over expressions of the faith. Subsequent chapters consider how older friends, and youthful contemporaries encouraged Christian faith throughout his life. Most appear as rather shadowy figures in what has been written. Greater attention to little published biographical material clarifies their importance. Using local reminiscences of the inter-war years when the Buchans were very prominent in Elsfield, for the first time the absorbing significance of their involvement in village life receives the attention it deserves. Those arguing that Buchan’s more racist or anti-clerical fictional characters voice his own beliefs are challenged by closer examination of some of his historical and fictional writings, and other activities. It has been claimed that one of Buchan’s greatest novels, Sick Heart River, reveals his own spiritual pilgrimage, lacking a fully satisfying conversion experience until the close of life. This book is given a new interpretation. All the matters addressed more thoroughly here trenchantly focus Buchan’s life-long faith, wonderfully expressed in Greek on his grave, ‘Christ shall overcome’

'Expecting': occupant model incorporating anthropometric details of pregnant women

This study reports the research for a design tool related to pregnant women’s safety during car travel. Anthropometric measurements are taken to generate an occupant model incorporating pregnancy related changes. These anthropometric changes mean that a pregnant occupant may be excluded by the designs, based upon non-pregnant female anthropometry. The paper explains the generation of a comprehensive parametric computer aided model of a pregnant occupant, ‘Expecting’. The model can represent different size pregnant occupants as well as the size differences occurring in standing and seated postures. This model can be used as a design tool for automotive designers to help ensure that vehicle designs can accommodate the anthropometric needs of pregnant occupants

Engineering Controls for Bioaerosols in Non-Industrial/Non-Healthcare Settings

The list of disease pathogens that can be transmitted in the air is extensive. This list includes the common cold, SARS, measles, Hansen’s disease (leprosy), polio, influenza, Legionella (Legionnaires’ disease and Pontiac fever), and tuberculosis (TB). TB, SARS-CoV-1, avian influenza, varicella, and now SARS-CoV-2 all have received public notice due not only to their known or assumed ability to be transmitted in the air rapidly from one individual to another, but also for their virulence. Other bioaerosols that can be transmitted through the air include bacteria, fungal spores and fragments, dust mites, and pollen. This document was developed to address control of bioaerosols transmission, primarily through ventilation and other engineering controls. This monograph will focus on engineering controls in non-industrial/ non-healthcare facilities such as office buildings, schools, public assembly, theaters, and governmental buildings. It does not, however, address ventilation in residences, either single or multi-family

Enhanced Leak Detection

A key requirement for Veeder-Root’s Enhanced Leak Detection System is that it be able to test in situ for the presence of leaks at gasoline dispensing facilities. Aside from the obvious issues of safety and lost product, this functionality is obligatory for compliance with environmental standards mandated by federal and state oversight bodies, such as the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). The SWRCB demands a testing procedure that includes conditions as close to operational as possible, while still using environmentally safe gases as a test fluid. Although the test parameters (e.g., pressure) are allowed to deviate from operating conditions in order to facilitate the test procedure, a prescribed rescaling of the test thresholds must then be applied to account for the deviation. Whether the test is run at operation conditions or in a slightly different parameter regime, the fact that the testing must be done on the product and return lines after installation at a service station presents significant challenges in devising an effective test strategy

The neuroprotective effects of bilingualism upon the inferior parietal lobule: A Structural Neuroimaging Study in Aging Chinese Bilinguals

Abstract It is a timely issue to understand the impact of bilingualism upon brain structure in healthy aging and upon cognitive decline given evidence of its neuroprotective effects. Plastic changes induced by bilingualism were reported in young adults in the left inferior parietal lobule (LIPL) and its right counterpart (RIPL) (Mechelli et al., 2004). Moreover, both age of second language (L2) acquisition and L2 proficiency correlated with increased grey matter (GM) in the LIPL/RIPL. However it is unknown whether such findings replicate in older bilinguals. We examined this question in an aging bilingual population from Hong Kong. Results from our Voxel Based Morphometry study show that elderly bilinguals relative to a matched monolingual control group also have increased GM volumes in the inferior parietal lobules underlining the neuroprotective effect of bilingualism. However, unlike younger adults, age of L2 acquisition did not predict GM volumes. Instead, LIPL and RIPL appear differentially sensitive to the effects of L2 proficiency and L2 exposure with LIPL more sensitive to the former and RIPL more sensitive to the latter. Our data also intimate that such differences may be more prominent for speakers of languages that are linguistically closer such as in Cantonese-Mandarin bilinguals as compared to Cantonese-English bilinguals

Structure of the first representative of Pfam family PF04016 (DUF364) reveals enolase and Rossmann-like folds that combine to form a unique active site with a possible role in heavy-metal chelation.

The crystal structure of Dhaf4260 from Desulfitobacterium hafniense DCB-2 was determined by single-wavelength anomalous diffraction (SAD) to a resolution of 2.01 Å using the semi-automated high-throughput pipeline of the Joint Center for Structural Genomics (JCSG) as part of the NIGMS Protein Structure Initiative (PSI). This protein structure is the first representative of the PF04016 (DUF364) Pfam family and reveals a novel combination of two well known domains (an enolase N-terminal-like fold followed by a Rossmann-like domain). Structural and bioinformatic analyses reveal partial similarities to Rossmann-like methyltransferases, with residues from the enolase-like fold combining to form a unique active site that is likely to be involved in the condensation or hydrolysis of molecules implicated in the synthesis of flavins, pterins or other siderophores. The genome context of Dhaf4260 and homologs additionally supports a role in heavy-metal chelation

Structure of a putative NTP pyrophosphohydrolase: YP_001813558.1 from Exiguobacterium sibiricum 255-15.

The crystal structure of a putative NTPase, YP_001813558.1 from Exiguobacterium sibiricum 255-15 (PF09934, DUF2166) was determined to 1.78 Å resolution. YP_001813558.1 and its homologs (dimeric dUTPases, MazG proteins and HisE-encoded phosphoribosyl ATP pyrophosphohydrolases) form a superfamily of all-α-helical NTP pyrophosphatases. In dimeric dUTPase-like proteins, a central four-helix bundle forms the active site. However, in YP_001813558.1, an unexpected intertwined swapping of two of the helices that compose the conserved helix bundle results in a `linked dimer' that has not previously been observed for this family. Interestingly, despite this novel mode of dimerization, the metal-binding site for divalent cations, such as magnesium, that are essential for NTPase activity is still conserved. Furthermore, the active-site residues that are involved in sugar binding of the NTPs are also conserved when compared with other α-helical NTPases, but those that recognize the nucleotide bases are not conserved, suggesting a different substrate specificity